[NewMusic] Mills article

[Phillip Greenlief]

-----Original Message-----
On Behalf Of Sarah - 21 Grand
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2007 11:41 AM
Subject: [NewMusic] Mills article

PG:
Goodness, am I being profiled as one of the male musicians that keep
women sublimated by playing somewhere every night?  I certainly hope
not! 

SL: No, I brought up your prolificity as an example of someone who is an
infrequent audience member at improv gigs because you are performing in
so
many of them.  The issue was infrequent attendance at gigs (other than
one's
own) and whether an infrequent attendee could accurately say whether the
local scene is male-dominated or not.

PG: I see. I imagine Fred is aware of what's going on in the clubs
whether he's there or not - at least as far as who's on stage. In short,
I'm sure he reads the Transbay and surveys BA NEWMUS Events. As to how
well he could register attendees - well, his shows probably have a
different demographic than mine or Damon's or Ava's or Matt D's or
Polly's or REO Speedwagon...how can any of us really evaluate such a
thing with any accuracy or objectivity? I'm not certain it's possible.

The following will be hard to say without sounding defensive. I try to
see as many shows as I can. I probably head over to 1510 more often on
my off nights because it's closer and I've developed a habit of going
out with Jeremy and Micaela afterwards for rock and roll outings. I try
to get over to 21 Grand whenever I see a show listed there that
interests me, which is quite often, but since I am often rehearsing or
practicing at night when people are performing, my time, as is everyone
else's, extends from a rather short leash. 

Like others have said on this list, when I do get out and see something
(I'm heading to the LSG tonight, for example), I am almost always glad I
did. In tandem with my earlier statement about playing with a diverse
crew of players in order to learn from a wider pool of possibilities, I
feel the same way about attending concerts: I learn something from every
show I attend.

Finally, two of the best shows I've been to in recent months have been
Bolivar Zoar at LSG and Mary Clare's solo at SFEMF. I also loved playing
in and listening to the Company night(s) Jorrit Dijkstra curated a few
months ago at 1510 - which featured a good gender balance, if that
matters (apparently it does). And, on a recent night of male-dominated
stage antics, I LOVED hearing Slusser's Rubber City at Starry Plough. I
had to show up with Lisa Mezzacappa just to prove I'm "fair" in my
choice of bassists, and she, without need of saying, completely kicked
ass that night.

Yes, I too indulge in absurdity, as the reader of the above passage will
no doubt attest. Perhaps it's the only way to humor our own inevitable
sense of failure.

I still have not read this article everyone is talking about. I'm
(again) a little surprised that this tired gender thread is the only
thing to come from it. I was sort of hoping we could all get past
worrying about this shit and get more involved with making music
regardless of which aisle we buy our underwear at the local Target
StateSponsoredRightHandsHoistedInTheAirSuperFuckingMegaStore.